Honey Roast Pork Belly Strips with Anise

Nigel Slater used ribs for this brilliant recipe of his, Honey Roast Ribs with Star Anise. But I didn't have any and was desperate to make it, so instead I used boneless pork belly strips and the end result was amazing.

I chose quite lean belly slices, since some can be a lot more fatty but that said, most of the fat seemed to disappear during cooking and they just melted in your mouth.

If you're thinking they look burnt, they wasn't but I can see you could easily burn them towards the end of cooking so you need to keep an eye on them. Mine took 20 minutes less than Nigel Slater's recipe.

Yield: 2-3 Author: Nigel Slater

HONEY ROAST PORK BELLY STRIPS WITH ANISE

Sticky ribs are a classic example of sugar and spice working brilliantly together. You might never have thought of making them at home, but the results are amazing.

ingredients:

6 tbsp thickish honey

3 heaped tbsp oyster sauce

¼ tsp chilli flakes

4 whole star anise

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp black peppercorns

4 cloves garlic

1.5kg/3lb 5oz meaty pork ribs

instructions

To make the marinade, spoon the honey and oyster sauce into a roasting tin or baking dish. Add the chilli flakes, star anise and salt. Grind the peppercorns and add them to the marinade.

Toss the ribs in the marinade and tuck the garlic cloves whole between the ribs, then set aside for at least 2 hours. It wouldn’t hurt if they stay there overnight.

Roast the ribs at 160C/325F/Gas 3 for 90 minutes, turning them in their sauce from time to time.

Then turn the heat up to 200C for 15 minutes, Keep an eye on them, as sometimes they burn easily. They are ready when the meat is tender, though far from falling off the bone, and the ribs are sticky and almost charred.

It is not often that I allow myself such decadent morsels of meat. But, if I go to H-Mart soon, I may just try this recipe your way. These images are perfection. They beckon me to eat one or two or perhaps even three.